MMX metadata framework is a lightweight implementation of OMG Metadata Object Facility built on relational database technology. MMX framework is based on three general concepts:

Metamodel | MMX Metamodel provides a storage mechanism for various knowledge models. The data model underlying the metadata framework is more abstract in nature than metadata models in general. The model consists of only a few abstract entities... see more.

Access layer | Object oriented methods can be exploited using inheritance to derive the whole data access layer from a small set of primitives created in SQL. MMX Metadata Framework provides several diverse methods of data access to fulfill different requirements... see more.

Generic transformation | A large part of relationships between different objects in metadata model are too complex to be described through simple static relations. Instead, universal data transformation concept is put to use enabling definition of transformations, mappings and transitions of any complexity... see more.

Enter XDTL (eXtensible Data Transformation Language). XDTL is an XML based descriptional language designed for specifying data transformations from one database/storage to another. XDTL syntax is defined in an XML Schema document (http://xdtl.org/xdtl). XML Schema of XDTL has semantic annotations linking it to XDTL ontology model.

XDTL documents are interpreted by an XDTL Runtime Engine. XDTL/XDTL Runtime Engine is built not from the perspective of a slick IDE or a cool engine, but an efficient language for describing the data transformations. The goal is to produce a lightweight ETL development/runtime environment that would handle most of the common requirements with better efficiency than traditional jack-of-all-trades tools. XDTL Runtime Engine is currently under development for both .NET and Linux environments. XDTL language is free to use for anyone.

XDTL documents are stored in well-formed XML files that can be validated with XDTL XML Schema. Package is the primary unit of execution that can be addressed by the runtime engine. A single XDTL document can contain several packages. Every package has a unique identifier in the form of a URI. There are also special non-executable packages (libraries) that serve as containers of tasks callable by other packages. A package contains an arbitrary number of Variables, an unordered collection of Connections and an ordered collection of Tasks.

Variables are name-value pairs mostly used for parameterization and are accessible by transformations. Connections are used to define data sources and targets used in transformations. Connections can refer to database resources (tables, views, result sets), text files in various formats (CSV, fixed format, Excel files) or Internet resources in tabular format.

Tasks are the smallest units of execution that have a unique identifier. A task is an ordered collection of Transformations that move, create or change data. There is at least one transformation in a task. Tasks can be parameterized in case one or several of it's transformations have parameters; in that case all the parameters should have default values defined as package variables.

What sets XDTL apart from traditional ETL tools?

- while ETL tools in general focus on the graphical IDE and entry-level user, the needs of a professional user are not addressed as he/she has to struggle with inefficient workflow. XDTL relies on XML as development vehicle making it easy to generate the data transformation documents automatically or with XML tools of choice.

- as data amounts grow, the paradigm shifts from ETL to ELT, where bulk of the transformations take place inside the (target) database. Therefore most of the fancy features provided by heavyweight ETL tools are rarely or never used and the main workforce is SQL. However, there is very little to boost the productivity of SQL generation and reuse. XDTL addresses this with metadata-based mappings and transformations served from metadata repository, and by the use of transformation templates instead of SQL generation, capturing the typical scenarios in task libraries for easy reuse.

- most of the heavyweight tools try to address every single conceivable problem which turns solving the trivial tasks obscure and too complex. They also aim to provide support for every single database product even if the chances to ever encounter most of them are almost zero. XDTL focuses on the most frequent scenarios and mainstream brands and put the emphasize on productivity and efficiency.

- XDTL takes advantage of the general-purpose metadata repository of MMX Framework targeting a broad range of metadata-related activities and not locking the user into an ETL-specific and ETL-only repository from <insert your ETL tool vendor>.